may reading wrap*up!!

may 2023:

weekly reading book reviews

every monday morning, i talk about the books i read the week prior on instagram (@halthegal_storyart). in case you don’t have the social medias, i wanted to put a month’s worth of reads + titles on my TBR for your perusing! enJOY! (all titles link to bookshop.org—where you can shop for books online and support local, independent bookstores across the country while you’re at it. yay!)


✨weekly reading book review may 2023: episode one!!✨

here’s what i read this week:

☕️ THE FAMILY PLOT by megan collins (true crime + small island serial killer + family drama & secrets!! )

☕️ LEEVA AT LAST by sara pennypacker (middle grade perfection for all ages!!)

☕️ DAMSEL by evelyn skye (dragon! faraway kingdom secrets! linguistics + fantasy girl power & survival!!)

currently reading :

⛺️ ARCADIA by lauren groff (adult literary fiction)

reading next? i’ve got some ideas….

probably becca ross DIVINE RIVALS, though!


✨weekly reading book review may 2023: episode two!!✨

here’s what i read this past week:

☕️ ARCADIA by lauren groff

☕️ STAND UP, YUMI CHUNG! by jessica kim

☕️ LOLA AT LAST* by j. c. peterson

*i want to add a note about this review! although seeing characters making bad decisions always makes me cringe, i recently heard an author interview that has me rethinking these “bad decisions.” because XYZ is in a book doesn’t necessarily mean the author is condoning the character’s actions. but what better than a BOOK to be a safe space for kids to “make” bad decisions— without doing it in real life during these formative years of growing up? this is nuanced, of course. but i’m definitely thinking differently about “content” in books now. they can be a warning (without being pedantic or moralizing) and not a “oooh look, kids! drugs are fun!” kind of tome… : ) again—something new i’m thinking about! ~h. (7/102023)

currently reading :

☕️ DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

hope to read next:

☕️ PRINCESS PRIVATE EYE by evelyn skye (this one links to barnes & noble because it wasn’t listed on bookshop.org at time of posting!)

☕️ I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by rebecca makkai


✨weekly reading book review may 2023: episode three!!✨

here’s what i read last week:

☕️ DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

☕️ DIOR BY DIOR by christian dior

☕️ THE HISTORY OF MOVIEMAKING published by scholastic, inc, translated from the french. (pretty sure this is way out of print, but let me know if you need the isbn number to track down a used copy!)

currently reading:

☕️ KELCIE MURPHY & THE ACADEMY FOR THE UNBREAKABLE ARTS by erikae lewis

✒️ STORY GENIUS by lisa cron

hope to read next:

☕️ KAMILA KNOWS BEST by farah heron

☕️ FALL OF THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD & EVIL by soman chainani

recommended podcast:

☕️ THE WITCHTRIALS OF JKROWLING by @thefreepress


✨weekly reading book review may 2023: episode four!!✨

here’s what i read this week:

❤️ KELCIE MURPHY & THE SCHOOL FOR THE UNBREAKABLE ARTS by erika lewis

❤️ I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by rebecca makkai

❤️ AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by gene luen yang

currently reading:

❤️ PRINCESS PRIVATE EYE by evelyn skye (this one links to barnes & noble because it wasn’t listed on bookshop.org at time of posting!)

❤️ VOICES by david elliott


✨weekly reading book review may 2023: episode five!!✨

this week i read:

☕️ PRINCESS PRIVATE EYE by evelyn skye (this one links to barnes & noble because it wasn’t listed on bookshop.org at time of posting!)

☕️ ENTER THE BODY by joy mccullough

✒️ STORY GENIUS by lisa cron

☕️ BEGIN AGAIN by emma lord

currently reading:

☕️ THE WITCH’S BOY by kelly barnhill

reading next (maybe?!):

☕️ WOMEN VS. HOLLYWOOD by helen o’hara

☕️ YELLOWFACE by r. f. kuang

☕️ THE SILENT PATIENT by alex michaelides

✨ what stories are you loving right now?!

❤️xo,

*hallie